The Miami Heat must figure out how to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo now. Because the reality is, if the Heat don’t trade for Giannis by the trade deadline, it’s hard to envision this team winning a bidding war for the star forward during the summer - if he’s even still on the trade block.
Miami may not have an overwhelming chance to secure Giannis before the deadline, but it’s certainly their best shot.
If the Milwaukee Bucks decide to take this bidding war into the offseason, the Heat’s chances are likely only going to diminish.
Why the Heat won’t win a Giannis bidding war this summer
Suppose the Bucks decide to keep Giannis on the roster heading into the summer. They are turned off by the offers made at the trade deadline and believe that there's a better chance they can significantly improve this offseason.
Fair. However, the Heat shouldn't find any consolation in that scenario playing out.
Even though the Heat will have more draft picks at their disposal during the offseason, the competition for Giannis could be much more developed. In that scneario, there's a chance teams like the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, or even the Oklahoma City Thunder jump into the bidding war.
At that point, the Heat would have virtually no shot of winning a bidding war against teams with much more to offer. Unless, of course, it came to the point where Giannis was pressuring Milwaukee to send him to his desired landing spot - and if that so happened to be the Heat.
Considering Giannis has been hesitant to apply any external pressure on the Bucks up to this point, it's hard to see that playing out.
That's why the next few days could prove to be extremely important to the future of the Heat. If they are going to pull off the impossible and acquire Giannis, it almost certainly has to happen this week.
In a watered-down bidding war, the Heat need to do whatever it takes to emerge with the best offer and hope that the Bucks are pushed to the point where they're ready to accept it.
It's hard to envision what exactly the Heat's front office would do if they missed out on Giannis. What the next pivot would be is not clear.
However, you can almost bet it would equate to more darkness and uncertainty for the Heat.
For the past few years, Miami has been building to its opportunity at Giannis. It's finally here. They can't afford to miss out on it now and let this drag on into the offseason. It's now or never for the Heat and Giannis.